How to Write the Literature Review for a Thesis on Online Purchase Intention: Previous Studies, Gaps and a Synthesis Table (2026)

To write the literature review for a thesis on online purchase intention, search for studies on each variable in your model, group them by variable rather than by author, summarise each study with one formula (who, where, how many, which theory, what result), compare them in a synthesis table, and finish each section with the gap your project fills. The steps below use real Malaysian studies as models, so you can see what a summary line looks like before you write your own.

Step 1: Fix the scope before you search

Online purchase intention is among the most studied topics in marketing and e-commerce projects, so an unfocused search returns hundreds of papers. Decide four things first and write them in one sentence:

1. The platform or channel. Marketplace apps, social commerce, online group buying, online grocery or fashion.
2. The consumer group. Generation Z, university students, working adults, one state or region.
3. The dependent variable. Purchase intention, not actual purchase or satisfaction.
4. The predictors. Trust, perceived risk, information quality, price, convenience, perceived usefulness, social influence.

Example scope sentence: “This review covers studies of online purchase intention among young consumers in Malaysia and comparable markets, published in the last ten years, that test trust, perceived risk, information quality or technology acceptance variables.” Your supervisor will recognise this as a boundary, and it keeps Chapter 2 from ballooning. If your problem statement is not fixed yet, work through how to write a problem statement for research first, since the review exists to support it.

Step 2: Search in a way you can repeat

Use combinations of terms in the databases your university library subscribes to and in open sources such as Google Scholar and DOAJ: “online purchase intention”, “purchase intention” with “Malaysia”, “online shopping” with “trust”, and the names of the theories you plan to use. Record each search with the database, date and terms in a notes file. Filter by recent years, then read abstracts first. A study is useful if it has a clear sample, a named theory or model, and results you can state in a sentence. Our guide to AI tools for finding papers and building a literature review compares tools that help with discovery, but you must still open every paper you cite and check what it actually reports.

Step 3: Build a literature matrix for every study

For each study you keep, record the same columns: authors and year, journal and volume, country, sample size and who the respondents were, theory or model, variables, method and analysis, main finding, and limitation. This matrix becomes your synthesis table later. Doing it at this stage prevents the common mistake of citing a study for a claim it does not make.

Step 4: Learn the theories that anchor this literature

Most purchase intention studies are built on a small set of theories, and your review should name the one your model uses, using the original source:

• Theory of Planned Behavior. Ajzen (1991), Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179 to 211. Intention is shaped by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control.
• Technology Acceptance Model. Davis (1989), MIS Quarterly, 13(3). Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use explain acceptance of a technology.
• UTAUT. Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis (2003), MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425 to 478, extends technology acceptance with further determinants.

To see how a theory feeds the objectives and hypotheses, read a worked research proposal for a marketing FYP in Malaysia. Each variable you add should have a reason in the theory, not just in your reading list.

Step 5: Group the studies by variable, not by author

A weak review lists studies one after another: “Smith (2020) found X. Lee (2021) found Y.” A strong review is organised by the variables in your model. For a model with trust, perceived risk and information quality, you would have a subsection for each, and inside each subsection you compare the studies that tested that variable: where they agree, where they conflict and why (different samples, platforms or measures). Use headings that name the variable and the relationship, such as “Trust and online purchase intention”. Our guide to how to write a literature review for your FYP or thesis gives the general paragraph structure.

Step 6: Summarise every study with the same formula

Use one sentence formula for every study: the author and year, then the sample and country, then the theory or model, then the variables and method, then the main result. Here are two entries built from real studies, written the way they would appear in your Chapter 2:

• Lee (2025), writing in the International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(5), 1937 to 1965, surveyed 200 Generation Z consumers in Malaysia and examined perceived site quality, trust, product information quality and perceived risk. According to the abstract, product information quality was the most significant factor contributing to purchase intention.
• Kiew, Abu Hasan and Abu Hasan (2021), in the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Journal of Undergraduate Research, 3(1), 45 to 56, surveyed 208 online shoppers on the East Coast of Malaysia, using variables adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model, namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived price, perceived convenience and perceived trust, and analysed the data with descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression. They report that perceived convenience and perceived trust had a strong influence on intention to use Shopee for online purchases.

Notice what these entries do: they give the sample, the variables, the method and the headline result, and nothing else. They do not quote the abstract at length and they do not claim more than the abstract says. When you cite a study that you could only read in part, say only what you read. Liew and Falahat (2019), International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 10(1), 60, is another Malaysian study on purchase intention in online group buying; open the full paper and record its sample and result before you cite it.

Step 7: Compare studies in a synthesis table

A synthesis table shows the reader how the evidence adds up. This one is a model you can adapt, filled only with what the two abstracts above report:

Add one row per study in your own matrix, with the same five columns. Below the table, write a short interpretive paragraph. For example: “Two Malaysian studies point to trust-related and information-related factors. Lee (2025) reports that product information quality was the most significant factor among Generation Z consumers, whereas Kiew et al. (2021) report that convenience and trust had the strongest influence among East Coast shoppers using a Technology Acceptance Model framing. The studies differ in sample, platform and variable set, so their results cannot be compared directly, which motivates testing these variables together in one sample.” That paragraph does three things an examiner looks for: it compares, it explains the difference and it leads to your model.

Step 8: End each section with the gap, then derive hypotheses

A gap is a specific, defensible statement about what the studies you reviewed have not done. From the two entries above, a legitimate gap statement is: “The studies reviewed examine trust and information quality but do not include influencer credibility among their variables.” Swap in the variable your project actually tests, and check that none of the studies in your matrix include it. Never write “no study has ever examined this” unless your search was systematic enough to support it; write “the studies reviewed here” instead.

Then derive hypotheses: each hypothesis names two variables, a direction and the group. A worked example of how a proposal defines variables is in how to write operational definitions for a marketing FYP, which also shows how to define purchase intention so it can be measured.

Step 9: Check that the review matches the rest of the thesis

1. Every variable in Chapter 2 appears in the objectives and the instrument.
2. Every cited study is in the reference list in the style your faculty requires.
3. The theory in your framework is cited from its original source.
4. The questionnaire items come from sources you reviewed, and each adapted item can be traced back to its original scale.
5. Reporting verbs are precise; 48 reporting verbs and what each one commits you to helps you avoid “proved” when a study only “suggests”.

Common mistakes in a purchase intention literature review

• Author-by-author listing. It reads as a bibliography, not a review.
• Old or off-topic studies. Studies from another channel or era need an explanation of why they still apply.
• Citing only the abstract for claims the paper may not make. Open the study and confirm.
• No comparison. A paragraph that never says where studies disagree is a summary, not a review.
• A gap without evidence. The gap must be visible in your matrix.
• Mixing intention and behaviour. Purchase intention is not actual purchase.

How can Tesify help you write the review chapter?

When your matrix and synthesis table are ready, Tesify helps you structure Chapter 2 around them. It is used by 9,000+ students across 15,000+ chapters, and the thesis stays 100% written by you.

Frequently asked questions

How many previous studies should a purchase intention literature review include?

There is no universal number. Your faculty handbook and supervisor set expectations. Aim for enough studies to cover every variable in your model, with several for each main relationship.

Should I group studies by author or by variable?

By variable. Organising by variable lets you compare findings and shows the examiner how the evidence supports each hypothesis.

How recent should the studies be?

Prefer recent studies, for example from the last ten years, because online shopping platforms change quickly. Include older work only for foundational theories such as Ajzen (1991) and Davis (1989).

Can I use studies from other countries?

Yes, but explain why they apply, and include Malaysian studies where they exist. Comparing local and international findings is a useful part of the synthesis.

What is a synthesis table?

A table that compares the reviewed studies by sample, theory, variables and main result, followed by a short interpretation that shows agreement, disagreement and gaps.

How do I write a research gap?

State what the studies you reviewed did, then what they did not include, such as a variable, population or platform. Support it with your matrix and avoid claiming that no study exists.

Which theory should I use for purchase intention?

Use the Theory of Planned Behavior if attitudes and norms matter, the Technology Acceptance Model if the platform’s usability matters, or UTAUT for a broader set of determinants. Cite the original source.

Can I cite a study I only read the abstract of?

Only for what the abstract says, and prefer to open the full paper. State nothing about methods or limitations that you did not read.

How long should the literature review chapter be?

Follow your faculty’s word limit and structure. A purchase intention chapter usually has a section for the theory, a section for each variable and a closing synthesis with hypotheses.

How do I avoid plagiarism in the review?

Paraphrase from your matrix notes, cite every source and use your own comparison sentences. Quote only short phrases that need exact wording.